Mandi muralizing in Dayton

Mandi Caskey is an artist/muralist working in Columbus, Ohio painting many large scale artworks in raw spaces around central Ohio, in addition to her work making artwork suitable for the gallery or home. I had the pleasure of spending a day exploring some very cool forgotten spaces in Dayton, Ohio with Mandi a few months ago. After some hunting she settled on a blank wall...it had once been a basement wall before the building overtop was removed, exposing it to the elements. It provided the perfect surface for Mandi to paint a giant severed fish head. Find more of her work here and on Instagram here.

Filson Photographers Backpack -Update-

While I was visiting the Minister's Treehouse in Crossville, TN two weeks ago me and my Filson bag encountered a pretty serious rainstorm that just would not let up. I snapped a few pictures of it's exterior right before jumping in my car to escape the wetness. The bag performed extremely well in these conditions....I detected not a drop of moisture in the interior of the bag where my cameras were. I had even set the bag on the ground a number of times without any extreme absorption, which was a joy to see. I do have to point out the problematic design of the exterior pocket on the Photographer's Backpack (last photo). The structure of the pocket leaves it open to the elements on each end, allowing water to freely enter. I have to think Filson understands this because there are two brass eyelets at the bottom of the pocket, maybe to drain water or vent moisture. It's not a problem to keep sensitive equipment in other secure parts of the bag, but I have to wonder what a person would keep in there happy to have it get soaking wet. If the flap was just slightly larger, any water would be diverted. See my more exhaustive review of the Filson Photographers Backpack here. 

The most Summer of Summer days

Swimming in open water in the middle of Summer is one of the best ways to be happy. I hope you like these pictures, and I hope you too are able to swim in a large lake soon. 

PS These are some of the first photos I've taken with a new camera, the Fuji X-E1, with a 27mm pancake lens my good friend Ryan let me borrow. 

Adam and Brian, South Side Columbus

I love hanging out and taking photos with Brian and Adam....they both have great photographic intuition, and great eyes for photography. Brian is funnier then Adam, Adam is the best at finding really interesting light. We visited a place on the South Side of Columbus where a giant fire had taken place months before. Besides the burned out shells of buildings, scorched machines, and debris, there were also the largest stacks of pallets I've ever seen. 

Peter, at his house

I loved shooting Photos of Peter....he's extremely unique, bohemian, and is gifted in front of the camera. He lives in a house with a community garden in the backyard. He jumped in the shower and said, "Feel free to shoot pictures". You can't forget Peter once you meet him. Our photos were all over the place, just as this set of pictures reflects.